By Merritt Frey, Executive Director

It is with joy that I share the news that a new school is rising from the red dirt of Mali! This school is different from normal Mali Rising schools in several ways, but it will provide the same life-changing education to thousands of children over its life span.

One way Mali Rising school #26 is special is that it is being built in partnership with another NGO, Build a School in Africa. This organization also builds schools in Mali, and has some very experienced site coordinators and an interesting model. Our staff have partnered with Build a School in Africa so we can learn their methods. In return, we will bring this new school into Mali Rising’s support network, helping it thrive with teacher trainings, special programing, and more.

This school is also different in that it is located in a more “urban” setting than most of our schools. While most of our schools are in small villages far from other development, school #26 is in a town called Tentoubougou, which is quite near the big town of Ouelessebougou.

Why did we build in a more developed area? Well, one of our earliest schools — the Leon W. Pete Harman Middle School — is located in Tentoubougou. Despite having 6 classrooms rather than the typical 3, this school is INCREDIBLY overcrowded. More than 600 students attend Pete Harman Middle School each year. School #26 will hopefully relieve crowding at Pete Harman Middle School. In addition, the new school is located on the opposite side of a busy road so it should save children who live on that side of the road from a dangerous crossing.

As you can see from the photos here (taken about 9 days ago), construction is still in its early days. We will keep you informed as the school walls rise and the classrooms take shape! Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen by donating to the Builders’ Society.